Shades of Grey - Series 2
by Tenshi-Chan
Summary: Takes place during Season 2 of Torchwood. Jack has returned from his year of torture, and Ianto is scrambling to make sure some things stay the same, some things alter a little, and some things never happen at all.


Shades of Grey - Season 2  
By: Tenshi-Chan

Part 1: Blow Me

xxxxx

Ianto gripped the armrest as Owen careened around the corner. "Forgot about this."

Gwen chuckled from the passenger side. "How could you forget Owen's lousy driving?"

Ianto leaned over to give Gwen a small grin. "Probably blocked it out. Too traumatic."

"Shut it! I'm not THAT bad! You sure this is the way to go, Ianto?" Owen, to his credit, did not turn to glare at him for his teasing.

Ianto, who had touched a spacecraft belonging to a certain time-traveler the day Torchwood One fell, had been given about two years of foresight. He knew major events that would occur, and a few minor ones. The blow fish they were chasing counted as both. He had alerted the team when the creature had first appeared, but had neglected to tell them the significance of the date. He was overjoyed, and apprehensive. While the details of the past year were fuzzy, he knew the team remembered nothing of the year that hadn't really happened. He remembered it, but it was like he had watched a documentary of something that hadn't really happened. He felt disconnected from it all.

Jack, however, had lived through that year. Lived, and died multiple times. Tortured and humiliated, and Ianto hadn't warned him. This was the cause for Ianto's apprehension. How would Jack greet him? Ianto was determined to take it, regardless of the mood. He nodded at Owen's query. "Just put the address into the GPS." No need to bother a little old lady more than necessary, after all.

Within minutes, they were pulling up to the residence and splitting up. As in his memory, the alien had taken the family hostage and started taunting the team. Then, right on cue, there was a gunshot and Jack standing in the doorway with a cocky grin.

"Hey, kids! Miss me?"

Ianto quirked an eyebrow at him. "Oh! Were you gone long?" Jack snorted, and Ianto relaxed at the warmth and love he saw in Jack's expression. There was no anger or resentment.

"Get a room!" Owen's barb had no sting because he looked incredibly pleased as he tended to the injury the father had sustained and the mother hugged her daughter. "You could have said something, psychic boy!"

"What? And spoil the surprise?" Ianto chuckled while he distributed Retcon to the family as Gwen checked in with Carys. "Oh! By the way, Owen thinks I'm bonkers for not changing everything that would inconvenience everyone."

"Well ... we could have done without the visit to the Himalayan Mountains. That was a wild goose chase. Yeti my arse!" Owen looked over at Jack. "You all right, mate? Ianto warned us that you'd have a tough time of it, so I wanna check you over."

Jack sighed. "Physically ... I'm fine. Everything else is a bit battered, but I'll mend. I'm back with my crew, and everyone's still alive, I take it?" When Ianto nodded, he let out a breath. "So ... some R&R, I should be right back to my usual self." He spun around, his coat swishing dramatically, and he snagged Ianto in for a quick kiss, then went to the SUV. "Let's get going, then, shall we"

xxxxx

Back at the Hub, Ianto called out to everyone. "Owen .. once you're done with the autopsy, you and Tosh can go on your date. Gwen ... you take Carys and Eugene to these three locations." He handed Gwen a slip of paper. "Jack, you and I have someplace to go."

Gwen pouted. "Oh ... and not share the news?"

Jack felt his eyebrows rise. "What news? What did I miss?" When Gwen blushed and raised her left hand, showing off a lovely engagement ring, Jack was filled with elation for the woman. "Congratulations! Did he get down on one knee?"

Gwen giggled. "No. He said he was planning on it, but Ianto had suggested it would be wiser, and more romantic, to put it in the middle of the rose on my plate. The two of them went all-out to make it as special as possible."

Jack smiled. "Rhys is a lucky man."

Gwen nodded. "And I'm a lucky woman. Not many men would put up with a woman that is out at all hours doing Heaven knows what. We wanted to wait to plan our wedding until after Lisa is married. She'll be ecstatic to know you're back. She had an eye on a date next month, and now she can start booking everything." She smirked. "Rhys suggested making Ianto his best man."

"Thank you, but no. The last thing I want to do is find some bird to pop out of a cake while a bunch of blokes I don't know are on a pub-crawl." Ianto nodded to Gwen. "I did appreciate the thought, though." He motioned to Jack. "Let's go. Gwen, there will be canisters in each of those locations I gave you. Once you have the canisters, return here so Eugene can put them in the Archives with what we recovered from our fishy friend. They're to be classified as dangerous."

"On it! Glad to have you back, Jack! Ianto's been miserable without you here." With that, Gwen bussed his cheek and headed out.

xxxxx

While in the SUV, Jack felt his curiosity bubble. "So ... where are we going?"

"To meet an old ... partner of yours from when you were in the Time agency. The one you spent five years in a time loop in, in case you had more than one partner. He goes by the name of John Hart. Real prat. I want to nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem." Ianto's expression was forbidding.

Jack knew who Ianto was talking about. He had no clue how the man knew where he was, but was glad Ianto seemed to be taking the situation seriously. "What did he do?"

"Aside from piss me off? Poisoned Gwen, shot Owen, threw you off a roof, endangered the whole team, and caused general city-wide mayhem." Ianto's hands tightened around the wheel. "So, as I said, I want to nip this in the bud." He glanced over. "At the Hub, I figured I'd let you regain your bearings before returning the reins to you."

"Good idea. It's odd being back." Jack had the feeling Ianto was keeping something from him, but let it go for the moment. He'd ask about it later. They screeched to a halt in front of a multi-level car park just in time to hear someone from above them shouting. "Is he ...?" When Ianto took off running, Jack followed close behind. They skipped the lift and ran up the stairs. "Man, I'm out of practice!" They reached the top in time to see Jack's old partner come strolling out of a time shift. Ianto cleared out the fighting men as the man in a distinctive Napoleonic red jacket blinked to see Jack there and smiled broadly.

That was until Ianto approached, looking pleasant, and decked the man without warning. When he straightened, Ianto punched him again.

The renegade Time Agent rubbed his chin. "What the hell was that for?"

Ianto took a deep breath. "There's no diamond." He turned to Jack. "There are no bombs." He motioned to the stairs. "I want to have a moment alone with him." He held up a finger just as Jack was about to object. "Don't worry. I won't let him kiss me. I know about the lip balm."

Jack smiled when his old partner mumbled something about Ianto being a spoil sport, and capitulated.

xxxxx

Ianto kept his eyes glued to the man who would be indirectly responsible for so much pain as he heard Jack leave. "First off ... did you find Gray?"

John frowned at him. "What? Who? Do you mean Jack's brother? No! I wouldn't know where to look." Then his expression grew calculating. "Although ..."

"Don't! Trust me when I say that there is no redeeming him. As much as I would love a good family reunion, it won't happen. All it would accomplish is a lot of pain and suffering to many people, including you." Ianto took a deep breath and let it out. So many lives ... saved by this one meeting.

"How could you possibly know that, and why the hell did you punch me ... twice?" John rubbed his jaw. "Mean right hook, though."

Ianto shook his head. "I know all of this because I touched an alien artifact that showed me the future. And before you can even THINK of cashing in on that, the knowledge is localized to this planet for the next year. Why I hit you is personal." Ianto tugged at his tie. "Now ... you were told that there would be a map to an Arcadian Diamond. It's a trap." He folded his arms and glared at Hart. "You have no idea how much I want to have let her kill you in revenge."

John Hart's eyes widened. "Fuck!"

"Not interested."

John blinked then leered. "You sure?"

"Positive." Ianto shook his head. "At this moment, our colleagues are retrieving the canisters to place them in a secured archive so they won't pose a threat. Once you leave ... I don't ever want to see you again." He thought for a moment, and then shrugged. If Jack could change, maybe John could, too. "Unless you genuinely want to do some good."

John swallowed. "He won't stay for you, you know." It sounded almost like a plea.

Ianto tilted his head and smiled. "Maybe not. He has left once, but he has come back for me. That is enough."

John let out a huff. "Okay ... okay. Since there's no gain in it for me to ignore you, I'll heed your advice and leave well enough alone. Damn shame about that diamond not being real."

Ianto shook his head again. "I can't help you there." He pointed. "I think it would be best if you just go back where you came from. Maybe go back to rehab."

John sighed as he turned to go. "Right! See you around, then, Eye-Candy." With that, he walked back into the portal and was gone.

xxxxx

Jack waited anxiously. He fought the urge to run inside and snatch Ianto out of his old partner's reach. He let out a breath when Ianto came out. "Where did he go?"

Ianto took a deep breath and let it out. "I told him that some plans of his will lead to his pain and suffering, and he left. John Hart has nothing if he doesn't have a strong sense of self-preservation."

"What aren't you telling me?" Jack braced himself.

Ianto took in a deep breath. "He was going to use Gray as a means of manipulating you."

Jack felt like he had been punched. "Gray?"

Ianto's face fell. "Jack ... he hasn't been found yet. If John Hart finds him now, it will lead to mass destruction, the deaths of Tosh, Owen, and countless others. I'm sorry, really, but I can't let that happen as much as I want you to have your brother back."

Jack digested that. He knew how trauma could affect the minds of certain people. It upset him that Gray was one of those people. He ached to find his brother and make it all better, but accepted that doing so was impossible. "So ... what is on the agenda now?"

Ianto shrugged. "I've made reservations in a hotel nearby. We could have room service bring dinner, and then, if you're in the mood ..."

As down as he was, Jack felt his lips quirk into an ever so slight grin. "Ianto ... I haven't been with you in a year. Of course I'll be in the mood."

xxxxx

The sex had been a desperate need to reaffirm that they were together again. As they were catching their breath, Jack cleared his throat. "You reserved a room. Were you that sure of the outcome?"

"No. I figured that if you were angry, we could talk things over and get a good night's sleep in. Then, maybe, get some quality time before having a shower and heading into the hub." Ianto stretched a little. "The fact that we went straight to the quality time is a bonus." He yawned a little. "It's been a bit stressful, but the team has handled it fairly well."

"So I'm stuck like this." Jack felt saddened by that fact. "I kind of wish that the Doctor could have reversed what happened to me, but he can't. No one can."

Ianto stroked his arm. "I am sorry about that, Jack. I can't imagine the heartbreak you've had to endure, and will continue to endure." He sighed. "All we can do is enjoy the time we have together. I'll try to make sure that it's a very long time."

Jack shook his head. "Not long enough. If you lived to be a hundred, it wouldn't be long enough."

Jack knew, as he was sure Ianto did, that even fifty was not a sure thing when one worked for Torchwood.

xxxxx

Author's Notes: YES! I'm back! After ... uhm ... carry the four ... a while of being away, my muses finally roused themselves. Turns out I was trying to write the wrong things. I apologize for the title. It jumped out at me.

If anyone is worried, I give reassurances that I have not abandoned anything. If I did, I'd take them down. Right now, this is what my muses want.


End file.
